Nerve growth plays a major role in the development of host nervous systems, as well as the survival and regeneration of component nerve cells subject to damage or destruction by injury or disease, such as cognitive disorders associated with dementia.
Nerve growth factor, a polypeptide, induces nerve growth in hosts (for reviews on nerve growth factor, see L. A. Green and E. M. Shooter, Ann. Rev. Neurosci., 3, 353 (1980) and B. A. Yanker and E. M. Shooter, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 51, 845 (1982)). 2-Amino-1,1,3-tricyano-1-propene, a dimer of malnonitrile, also promotes nerve growth in host systems (see, for example, R. T. Houlihan and J. P. DaVanzo, Experimental Neurology, 10, 183 (1964). It has now been found that nerve growth factor in combination with 2-amino-1,1,3-tricyano-1-propene synergistically induces, stimulates, and maintains nerve growth, thereby rendering the combination more effective than either component in restoring nerve function diminished by injuries or degenerative conditions, e.g., Alzheimer's disease (see F. Hefti and W. J. Weiner, Annals of Neurology, 20, 275 (1986).
Cholinergic and adrenergic defects are also implicated in nerve degenerative disorders (see, for example, K. L. Davis and R. C. Mohs, The New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 1286 (1986). It has now also been found that 2-amino-1,1,3-tricyano-1-propene potentiates choline-O-acetyltransferse and tyrosine hydroxylase, thereby augmenting its nerve growth restorative properties and usefulness in nerve degenerative conditions including, e.g., Parkinson's disease, S. H. Appel, Ann. Neurol., 10, 499 (1981).